


The Family Shame

by Veozar



Category: Summus Proelium
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Gen, Loneliness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:22:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29795994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veozar/pseuds/Veozar
Summary: Cassidy Evans lost everything in a single day. She learned her family were supervillains at the same time as everyone else. Then, they were arrested, and their riches seized. Cassidy is left with nothing but an apartment and a reputation as the daughter of supervillains. However, when she touches the Summus Proelium orb, she is given a chance to rebuild her life.
Relationships: Amber O'Connell/Dani Kalvers, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Summus Proelium fanfiction, and maybe the first Summus Proelium fanfic in general? Summus Proelium is still relatively new compared to other stories I’ve written for, like Worm or Heretical Edge. I may come up with ideas in this story that later on will contrast canon. Any elements such as that will have to be considered AU elements, since I don’t want to wait forever to start writing this.

**Chapter 1**

“This item is a flashlight keychain. You can use it as a normal light by just holding down the button, no problem. But if you’re ever in danger, press the button rapidly four times. An alert will immediately be sent to Ten Towers, and we’ll be able to use it to track your location. I’m sure you don’t need me telling you it’s not a toy and to handle it responsibly.”  
  
The girl in front of Richard Mornes took the item with a nod, not meeting his eyes. He couldn’t help but wince at the sight of her. Her pink bangs on otherwise black hair nearly covered her eyes, but what little of them poked out looked lifeless.  
  
This wasn’t the sort of work he was used to. Sure, as Vice President of Ten Towers’ Outreach branch, he had spoken with kids to recruit after a tragedy had given them powers. The girl in front of him wasn’t Touched, though. She had no superpowers. Yet she couldn’t be called a normal girl, either. After all, her parents and brother had recently been arrested for running the crime scene in Detroit through a secret organization known as the Ministry.  
  
It was a huge mess, and no one knew who could be trusted. Investigations were still ongoing as to who was working for or with the Ministry, and arrests would probably continue being made for months to come. At the moment, Ten Towers seemed to be the cleanest of Detroit’s organizations, so they were in charge of protecting the Evans’ innocent daughter, Cassidy.  
  
“We have an apartment for you underneath Ten Towers,” Richard said. “Trust me, they’re way more spiffy than they sound. Not as impressive as your old place, I’m sure, but you’ll be comfortable. When you leave Ten Towers’ grounds, there will be guards following you, but trust me, you won’t even notice them. They’ll even wait outside of your school rather than go in.”  
  
Even with his assurances, he could tell he was making the girl sound like a prisoner. “Please understand, this is for your protection. Many people, both Fell-Touched and not, would target the daughter of the Ministry’s leaders for one reason or another.”  
  
“I get it . . .” For the first time in their conversation, Cassidy looked up and met Richard’s eyes. “I won’t try to shake off my guards or anything. I . . .” She swallowed, looking pained. “I’m not a bad person.”  
  
Richard’s heart sank. He found himself putting a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Hey, all of us at Ten Towers have your back. If you need anything, just ask.”  
  
Granted, the girl had already made some requests that were difficult to grant. One of which was to continue going to her old school. She had argued that she would have a reputation wherever she went, but being in a familiar environment would help her. They had eventually conceded.  
  
Things shouldn’t have happened this way. The reporter who had been gathering evidence against the Ministry—Lincoln Chambers—was originally going to bring the information to trustworthy sources, and over the course of many months write a story that would reveal the existence of the Ministry, along with Silversmith’s involvement, without giving away civilian identities. Then some asshole had broken into the Chambers’ apartment, stolen the evidence, and leaked all of it to multiple news sources both local, national, and international.  
  
The war that had broken out still wasn’t over. It was a combination of luck, quick thinking, and the right people getting involved that led to the Ministry’s leaders getting arrested. Now it was a matter of cleaning up the remnants, along with preventing anyone else from grabbing hold over the organization.  
  
“Thank you,” Cassidy finally said, and that seemed to be the end of their conversation. Richard would have her guards report to him on how she seemed to be managing her situation. She would be assigned a proper guardian in her apartment as well. No one important, but someone who could be trusted to look after her.  
  
From there, they could only hope the girl would find a way to be happy even with a reputation that would cling to her for the rest of her life.

* * *

I missed the days when I would be bullied.

That was weird. I knew that. No one ever _wanted_ to be bullied, and I certainly hadn’t at the time. But at least back then, I had been treated like a student. A student who was often teased for looking younger and like someone from the opposite sex, but a student nonetheless.

Now, I was treated more like a bomb that could go off at any moment. It was hard to miss the way students sitting near me would nudge their desks away as much as they could without the teacher noticing. Every class I was in would have people glance at me often, before quickly turning away if I made eye contact with them. After all, no one wanted to provoke the mafia princess.

It wasn’t right. My family couldn’t have been the terrible people everyone thought they were. They were—they were Mom, Dad, and Simon. They loved me, and I loved them. How could they be _murderers_? Them, running a criminal empire? The police had to have the wrong people. They . . . they had to.

No, I knew they didn’t. I had seen the evidence myself. Denying it only made me as bad a person as everyone said, and my gut twisted at the thought. I shouldn’t be going to a fancy private school when the money that had paid for my enrollment for so many years had been earned by killing people.

I felt like I might have to excuse myself to the bathroom to throw up. It wouldn’t have been the first time I had done so since that day I was suddenly taken out of class and brought to a bunker.

The teacher was saying something about group projects. The last thing I needed was for the people I was grouped with to dislike me further because I wasn’t paying attention to the details of the project, so I focused.

“I want each group to pick one person from the entire history of Europe and write about how their existence and actions shaped the world as we know it,” my history teacher, Mr. Dorn, was saying. “I want you to write this in a way that explains how things would have been different without that person. There are people throughout history who have changed the entire direction of this world. I want you to write about them.”

After answering a few questions, he assigned us our groups. I waited, wondering who I would end up with and just how badly they would wish they could work with someone else.

“Cassidy Evans,” Mr. Dorn said. Everyone’s head snapped my way, and some of the students who hadn’t been given groups yet seemed to be holding their breaths in anticipation. “You’ll be with . . . Amber O’Connell and Jae Baek.”

Multiple students sent Amber and Jae sympathetic glances, but for their part, they ignored them to pull up chairs by my desk.

Jae was an Asian albino, and I knew I wasn’t the only one who had never heard her speak more than a few words. Amber was pretty much the opposite, having been on the cheerleading team back when I was still a part of it. With her black hair in a loose ponytail, and blue-green eyes, she still looked the part. Though she had quit the team after her dad had been killed in a hit and run.

Well, I could certainly relate to feeling directionless after losing family.

“Hey, Cass,” Amber said. “I don’t suppose any European figures popped into your head right away when we got our directions? Because I’ve got nothing.”

I certainly appreciated Amber’s outgoing nature at that moment. “No names here,” I said. “I mean, maybe a few obvious ones that everyone will want to write about, but I’d rather not be turned around the moment we head up and tell Mr. Dorn our idea.”

It felt . . . nice, being able to joke around like this. Even if it was the standard, ‘getting adjusted to being around your new group members’ kind of jokes.

“We should check the library,” Jae said, her voice quiet.

“Good call,” Amber said. “He did say we were allowed to go there.”

So we went up to him and asked for permission, which we were granted. A few minutes later, we were in the school’s massive library, searching the history section for biographies, when a voice came from behind us.

“Wow, I feel bad for you, Amber.” We all turned around, and I noticed Jae stiffen. The girl standing in front of us with a smirk on her face was Elesha Carver. Even I knew that she was pretty much Jae’s main tormenter in school, relentlessly bullying the girl for her skin. You would think that, being black, Elesha would realize how fucked up that was, but apparently being as dense as a brick kept her from drawing the connection.

“How can you be expected to work with a group like this?” Elesha continued. “A mutated freak and a murderer. Maybe you can convince the teacher to move you away and let them suffer each other’s presence.”

Oh, great, apparently she had decided to use me to get to Jae. I opened my mouth to retort, but Amber beat me to it.

“There are worse options for partners,” Amber said. “For example, I’m looking at one right now.”

Elesha scowled. “Fuck you. At least I’m not a freak or a criminal.”

“That’s the second time you used basically the same insults,” I couldn’t help but point out. “If you’re going to try out the bullying shtick, maybe you should try growing some brains first.”

That was enough for Elesha to focus on me, glaring and taking a step forward. “Listen here, you—” As she advanced, she started lifting her hand toward me, as though to grab me by the collar of my shirt.

She never got that far before another hand caught hers, yanking it away. Elesha’s eyes widened, and she whirled around. What she saw might have left her about a tenth as surprised as I was.

Paige Banners was the one who had pulled Elesha away from me. We had all been so focused on each other that we hadn’t noticed her approach.. Still, why was she _helping me_? Paige was for me what Elesha was for Jae. For years, she had relentlessly bullied me over looking like a young boy. There had been many days where her words had driven me to _tears_ once I could find privacy. She should have been completely fine watching me suffer. So why . . . ?

“Why are _you_ stopping me?” Apparently, Elesha had the same question. “Don’t you hate this monster more than anyone?”

“Cassidy,” Paige pulled Elesha closer, “is not a monster. You know who is? Someone who tries to ruin another person’s life because of the color of their skin. So, monster, how about you leave before you do something even more stupid?”

Elesha glanced between Jae, Paige, and me, her face flushed and eyes hardened. Finally, she threw off Paige’s grip before stalking off with a muttered, “Bitch.”

Paige’s gaze focused on me, and I almost expected her to start with her usual routine of relentlessly putting me down. Then, I looked into her eyes and saw the pity in them. No, not exactly pity, but . . . a deep sadness?

“Cassidy, I—” Paige started, before shaking her head and turning away. She walked back to the table she had been studying at without another word.

“That was . . . strange,” Amber said. She glanced at Jae and me. “Are you two okay.”

“Mostly confused,” I admitted. “Jae?”

Jae nodded. “I’ve been through worse.” Her voice was even quieter than before, but she met our eyes. “Thanks, both of you.”

“Of course,” Amber said. “I have your back. Now, let’s keep looking through these books.

“It won’t be long before lunch, and I don’t want to put that off by even a minute.”

* * *

We still hadn’t come up with anything by the time class was over, so we decided to look into people on our own and meet up in the school cafeteria for breakfast the next morning to come to a decision. Soon, school ended, and I headed straight back to my apartment.  
  
Despite being belowground, my new home was as comfortable as promised. Spacious, but well furnished, and I even had my own room. There were no windows, but the front door led out to an entire underground complex where Ten Towers Touched traversed. All their apartments were down here as well, along with some for people who were under the protection of Ten Towers like I was. The front door to my apartment had a peep hole, so I could look outside to this small community if I ever felt lonely.  
  
Not that it helped much. These people were all strangers. Even if I had known them, none of them were family. They weren’t Mom, or Dad, or Simon. At this point, I would have taken seeing the family driver, Jefferson. But I was denied even that luxury.  
  
It was all just too much. After exchanging greetings with my guardian that I could hardly pay attention to, I hurried into my room and shut the door. Collapsing onto the bed, I buried my face into my pillow and started sobbing. Tears flooded out of me, and I hugged my pillow tightly while still crying into it. My body shook with each sob, grief racking through me.  
  
I didn’t want to think about all this anymore. My family, school, everything. I just wanted it all to go away. But it never would. I would be stuck dealing with this for the rest of my life. Chances were I would never see my family again. I was . . . alone.  
  
I screamed into my pillow, my tears of grief turning into tears of frustration. It wasn’t fair! Why did things have to happen this way? Why did my family have to be evil? Why did they have to get caught and leave me alone? Why did I have to take the blame for what they did? Why? _Why?_  
  
Finally, I looked up, wiping my tear soaked face with my sleeve. What I saw on the other end of my bed made me rub my eyes again, just to make sure tears weren’t still in them. A blue orb of light with white specks was floating there. My eyes were drawn to it, so much so that I couldn’t look away.  
  
My hand slowly rose, reaching out to touch the orb. I could feel its warmth as my fingers brushed against it. Then, I rested my palm on the orb’s side.  
  
And then I was somewhere else.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

I knew what was happening. Everyone knew what the Summus Proelium orb was. As I stood in an empty world covered in fog, I knew I was about to be given powers. Still, I doubted this fact. Did someone like me deserve powers? Could I be trusted with them, considering who my family were?  
  
Images appeared in the fog in front of me. I saw the intercom at school call for me to come to the office. There had been half a dozen Ten Towers agents waiting there, and they had pulled me out of school. My eyes had been wide with fear, as they had refused to explain what was happening, only that they needed to “take me somewhere safe.”  
  
I had gotten into an armored vehicle, trying to reassure myself that they were honestly trying to help me since I hadn’t been cuffed or anything. We had driven for about half an hour before reaching a seemingly unimportant building. There was an elevator inside that had brought us underground.  
  
Once we were safe, I had been given the full story. In the fog, I saw the shock on my face fall into disbelief. I saw the tears, the outrage, the pleas that escaped my mouth. After a few minutes of screaming, I had eventually moved to the corner of the room and huddled in on myself. That was how I had remained for hours, until I was brought above ground again. We had gotten back in the car, this time driving to the actual Ten Towers base. That was when I had learned of my family’s arrest.  
  
From there, things moved faster. Everything was a blur. Getting that flashlight keychain from Richard Mornes, settling into my apartment and meeting my guardian, returning to school only to be shunned, I saw all of it in a flash. Then, finally, I saw myself in the room, reaching for the orb.  
  
The images finally came to a close, and I heard a voice surrounding me.  
  
“Summus Proelium.”  
  
This really was happening. I was being given a power. After today, I would be Touched.  
  
I had just enough time to accept that before I was thrust out of the empty landscape, and back onto my bed. I was in my room again.  
  
Except I wasn’t alone.  
  
I screamed, scrambling away from the figure in front of me. She made the exact same motions, putting us at opposite sides of the bed.  
  
Though I referred to her as “she” it was hard to tell. She wore no clothes, but she didn’t have any features that would give her sex away. She had no hair, and her eyes were devoid of irises. As I leaned forward a bit to figure out who she was, she did the same.  
  
Wait.  
  
I leaned back again, and she did as well. I lifted my right arm, and she lifted hers. As my eyes widened, so did her own.  
  
That was my power? I made . . . puppets?  
  
“Cassidy!” The door flew open, as my guardian rushed in. I’d only spoken with her a few times, but I knew her name was Larissa Lucas. “I heard screaming, are you okay?!”  
  
She froze, staring wide eyed at me, then at the puppet, then at me again. Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she struggled to figure out what to say.  
  
“Um,” I eventually managed. “Would you believe me if I said this was a science project?”

* * *

As it turned out, she did not believe me. That was how I found myself back in Richard’s office, the . . . I guess puppet was the only term I had for her, standing behind me. I had given her clothes, because even without any clear features, it felt weird leaving her naked. As I had done so, I had touched her hand, and while thinking about her appearance, it had changed. She had been given long, auburn hair and brown irises like mine.

So I could change how she looked. That was . . . interesting.

There was a bit more I had figured out on the way up here. Not only could I control her movements, but I could see through her eyes and hear through her ears. I had almost tripped from the nausea that came from seeing out of two pairs of eyes at once, but I was lucky enough that I could turn those senses on or off. Other than that, moving her around was sort of . . . instinct.

She really was just a life sized puppet, who I could change the appearance of at will. Yet something told me there had to be more to my power, because come on. A puppet? Nothing else?

“Sorry for the delay,” Richard said, stepping into the office. “I was wrapping up a meeting.” He froze for a moment seeing Cassitwo (look, I didn’t have the time to come up with a proper name for her yet), but was quick to brush it off with a smile. “I see you had quite the shock earlier.”

Larissa spoke up from her seat next to mine. “She’s been Touched. It happened while she was in her room.”

“Right.” Richard sat across from us and looked my way. “Why don’t you tell me what happened?”

I swallowed. Considering what I had been thinking about when the orb had appeared, I didn’t exactly want to blurt out everything. “I was in my room, thinking about . . . things,” I said. “That was when the orb had appeared.”

From the look Richard was giving me, he knew exactly what I was leaving out. “I see,” he said. “Well, we have plenty of resources to help you figure out how your power works. That is, assuming you want them.”

“You mean assuming I join Ten Towers as a Star-Touched.” I couldn’t quite keep the accusation out of my tone.

Richard, however, waved down that thought. “Nah,” he said. “You’re under our protection, so you get them either way while you’re still figuring stuff out. Don’t get me wrong, you would be safest working for us, but I didn’t get my position by forcing people to do things they didn’t want.”

That was . . . far more reasonable than I had been expecting. “In that case,” I said, “I do want to know how this thing works.” I lifted my arm, and Cassitwo followed with lifting hers.

“No problem,” he said. “Come with me.”

* * *

I followed him to one of the lower levels of the tower. There was a giant, steel room there, with punching bags hooked up to devices, long straightaways, durable targets, and other equipment for testing powers.

Someone was waiting for us there. Caishen, the leader of Ten Towers. She was in costume, dark gold pants with black lines down the sides, black boots, a dark purple scale mail-like shirt, a gold leather coat, and a black metal helmet with purple lenses.

“Miss Evans,” Caishen said. There was a faint, electronic distortion to her voice, probably so it wouldn’t be easy to identify. “First, I want to apologize for not speaking with you sooner. I know this seems like I only care because you are now Touched, but I have been checking our protection over you to make sure there are no holes in it.”

“Oh, uh, thanks.” I was still reeling from the leader of Ten Towers casually addressing me. “I’m sure you’ve been busy with . . . everything.”

“Indeed,” she said. “I am here to help you figure out your power, though. Why don’t you run me through what you know so far?”

“Well,” I said. “I guess I make puppets?” I had Cassitwo wave. “I can control her remotely, but when I touch her, I can change her appearance. I can also share her senses.”

“You said you have to touch her in order to change her appearance,” Caishen said. “Does physical contact give you any other abilities?”

“I’m . . . not sure,” I admitted. I had Cassitwo walk up to me and took her hand. Immediately, I felt a rush of power that almost took my breath from me. “Wow,” I said, “It . . . feels good.” It took about half a second to realize how weird that sounded and blush.

“Good?” Caishen echoed.

Still blushing, I clarified. “I feel like I can run a marathon.”

“Why not try just that?”

I blinked. “What?”

She pointed at the straightaway. “Sprint down that as fast as possible.”

Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt, and I certainly felt like moving with all this energy. I started to sprint, but I didn’t expect to go any faster than—

I took off. Literally. What would have taken about half a minute of sprinting took five seconds. I was on one end of the straightaway, then on the other before I even realized what had happened.

“Woah . . .” My heart was racing, and I couldn’t help but grin. Cassitwo wasn’t just a puppet, she was a source of power for me! What else could she let me do?

“Come on back!” Caishen called.

Right, time to zip over there and—

Oh, wait, maybe not. Apparently the burst of energy I got from Cassitwo didn’t last long after I stopped making contact with her. My running speed was back to normal, and it took a full 30 seconds to make it back.

“So, a short burst of speed,” Caishen said. “Let’s see if it extends beyond that.”

A few tests gave me a better idea of the boosts I got. I was far more athletic, able to do a perfect backflip. My strength was multiplied equally as much as my speed, which we tested on one of those punching bags with the equipment attached that measured the force of the strike. Not only that, Cassitwo got the same boosts as me when we touched.

For one test, I tried ‘letting go’ of the energy I was holding. Rather than use it to run or hit something, I just . . . released it.

One problem. I wasn’t paying attention, and all that released energy went straight at Caishen. I saw a ripple in the air fly into her, knocking her off her feet. Larissa, Richard, and I all gasped, and I ran to Caishen’s side.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” I blurted. “I had no idea that would happen!”

Caishen shook her head and picked herself up. “Surprises are expected when experimenting with new powers. That’s why I’m here helping you. So, from what we know, you can make a puppet the same size as you. Touching this puppet lets you change its appearance, but it also gives you a spike of energy. You can use that energy to boost your physical prowess, or release it in as a concussive wave. Your puppet gains these benefits as well.”

We practiced a bit more, including having me use boosts on myself and Cassitwo at the same time. Simply moving both of us at the same time was difficult at first, but I found myself adjusting faster than expected.

At one point, we shook hands, quickly separated by a few feet, then she tossed me a disc which I chopped in half as it reached me. We grinned, then high fived.

In that moment, Cassitwo vanished.

I yelped, falling onto my butt as my heart stopped for a moment. “S-she’s gone!”

“I don’t think so,” Caishen said. She came over and helped me up. “Focus. Do you still feel her at all?”

Closing my eyes, I tried to focus on any sort of strange sensation. There was one, as though I could push something out of me. I did so.

Cassitwo appeared in front of me. She was still wearing the clothes I had given her, and had the same eyes and hair.

“At least we won’t need another bed for her,” Larissa said. Curious, I walked over and took Cassitwo’s hand once more. I tried pushing out mentally again, just like before.

Another puppet appeared next to Cassitwo. She looked like Cassitwo had at first, clothless and lacking any defining features.

“I can make more puppets and . . . store them?” I said. “I think the first I can make with just a thought, but I have to touch her to make any more.”

“How many can you make?” Richard asked.

No more, as it turned out. Two puppets was my limit. Which, when I thought about it, was probably for the best. Managing two bodies at once was difficult enough, so having three out at the same time was likely to give me a migraine. Any more and my brain would explode.

More testing didn’t reveal any other abilities, even with both puppets out. What I did discover was that I had to be the one touching one of the puppets to make the boost work. I couldn't have one puppet touch the other and expect any results. Also, when I made either one of the puppets speak, their voices were the same as mine. That could certainly come in handy if I ever needed one to pretend to be me.

Eventually, I touched the new puppet and sent her away. For now, I would keep Cassitwo out and get used to controlling her. Once I was ready, I would upgrade to having both of them out.

It was strange, though. Even with all the nuance to my power, I felt like there was something missing. When I held Cassitwo’s hand, it felt like the energy that flooded me had more potential than how I was applying it. That had to just be me overthinking, right?

“Do you feel you have a better grasp of your abilities?” Caishen asked me.

I nodded, pushing thoughts of untapped potential out of my head. “I think I got it all. Thank you for helping me.”

“Of course,” she said. “Ten Towers looks after our own. Whatever you decide to do with your powers, we will support you.”

Something told me a joke about whether or not villainy was included in that wouldn’t go over well. Not that I was considering anything along those lines. God, no. I wasn’t my parents, or Simon. If I had these powers, I would use them to help people, not hurt them. I would prove that just because I was a member of the Evans family, I wasn’t evil.

No, better yet, this was my chance to _not_ be Cassidy Evans. I could be a hero entirely unrelated to the Ministry. Someone brand new, who had no connections to them. I wouldn’t have to worry about people judging me for the Ministry’s actions when my identity was hidden.

“What do you want to do?” Richard asked me. “As the Vice President of Outreach, I do have to recommend you join Ten Towers. It’s my job and all.”

Ten Towers wasn’t a bad option. They had already given me a place to stay, along with helping me figure out my powers. Except, well . . . it was probably dumb, but I wanted my Touched identity to be as separate from Cassidy Evans as possible. Ten Towers already had a connection with her. As a Touched, I had other options.

The question was, which one should I take?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Larissa being Cassidy’s guardian is just an Easter egg. There is no Mason family in this universe.
> 
> I am taking suggestions on Cassidy’s Touched name. Let me know any ideas you have, and I’ll go with whichever one I like best.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I recently published a 39K word novella. It is, in my opinion, the best story I have written. If you’ve enjoyed any of my fics, I would greatly appreciate it if you checked it out and considered buying it for either $4.99 digitally, or $9.99 physically. There’s a link to it[here](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08XYKCSFK).**

**Chapter 3**

Unfortunately, getting superpowers was not an excuse to get out of school. Not that I would have wanted to ditch Amber and Jae like that anyway. The next morning, I was in the cafeteria with them, sitting at a table in a secluded corner as we discussed who our history project would be on.  
  
“So, we’re going with Laura Cereta?” Amber asked. I nodded, and Jae did too, of course. She was the one who had originally made the suggestion, after all. I could tell how interested the girl was in this historical figure, and honestly, what she had told me had left me intrigued as well. I had originally felt bad for not researching anyone after my . . . distraction yesterday. Luckily, Jae had all of us more than covered.  
  
“Laura Cereta it is, then,” Amber said. “Let’s tell Mr. Dorn.” We started to get up, only to stop when we noticed someone approaching the table. I narrowed my eyes at the sight. It was Paige. After that strange encounter in the library yesterday, I had hoped she would leave me alone, but apparently not.  
  
“Cassidy,” Paige said. Great, here we go. “Can I speak with you in private?”  
  
Err, what? I glanced at Amber and Jae to make sure I wasn’t the only one with my jaw hanging open at the request. This wasn’t Paige’s usual routine, so what was she up to?  
  
“You two go ahead,” I told Amber and Jae. “I’ll . . . be talking with Paige, I guess.”  
  
They left, Amber patting me on the shoulder and mouthing ‘good luck’ on her way out. After that, I sat back down, and Paige joined me.  
  
“I wanted to apologize,” were the first words out of Paige’s mouth.  
  
Okay, what the fuck? Was I dreaming? Did I hit my head while practicing with my powers yesterday and fall into a coma? That was the only explanation I had for _Paige Banners_ giving me an apology.  
  
“Apologize,” I echoed flatly.  
  
Paige sighed. “I know you have no reason to hear me out, but I want to explain why I’ve treated you so cruelly. You deserve to know the truth.”  
  
“The . . . the truth. Wait, does this have to do with the Ministry?” It had to, right? Paige had clearly hated me for so long, and now that the Ministry had been exposed and my family arrested, she was suddenly acting far nicer than I thought capable of her.  
  
Had my parents gotten someone she cared about killed? Maybe all this time, she had assumed I was connected to the Ministry and blamed me for something they did. And now that the Ministry was exposed and I wasn’t in prison, she knew I wasn’t involved. That could be—  
  
“The Ministry is a large part of it,” Paige said. “But not all of it. There’s . . . it’s a lot to explain. My father, and Anthony Tate—” She cut herself off with a shake of her head.  
  
“Anthony Tate?” I frowned. “Who—you mean that kid I was acquaintances with as a kid?”  
  
“Not acquaintances,” Paige insisted. “You two were best friends. And . . . I was your friend too.”  
  
…  
  
What?!  
  
The feeling of a hammer striking suddenly reverberated through my skull. I groaned, bending over. Owwwwww, fuck!  
  
“Cassidy!” Paige was by my side, hand on my shoulder. “Are you okay?!”  
  
I took a deep breath, managing to straighten even as my head continued to pound. Fuck, people were staring at us. “I’m fine,” I forced out through gritted teeth.  
  
“It’s because they erased your memory.” Paige took a second to register that fact. “After Anthony Tate’s death. He was killed right in front of you, and you were traumatized. You were hurting badly, so they erased your memory of the event, and of Anthony in general.”  
  
Was she serious? More importantly, did I believe her? I didn’t want to. I wanted to violently reject everything she said. But after that reaction I’d just had, I couldn’t brush her off without at least considering her words.  
  
Right, what did I know? I had always thought of Anthony Tate as a distant friend at best. He had moved to Texas when I was young, then died in a car crash. I had been sad that someone I knew had died, but moved on after some time.  
  
My parents had held control over a vast amount of power and resources before they were captured. They had kept secrets for years, and they couldn’t have only done that by killing anyone who discovered them. Them having memory erasure was easy to accept.  
  
But . . . would they use it on me? If I had been traumatized so severely, would they have tried to help me through that? Or would they just be trying to keep their secrets from me? The Ministry had to be involved in Anthony Tate’s death, right?  
  
Paige noticed the look on my face. “Your parents love you, Cassidy,” she said. “Your grandfather was responsible for the attack, and your father killed him after your bodyguard, Robert Parson, helped you escape. But Anthony wasn’t the only one killed. The attack happened at his birthday party. Everyone there was . . .” Paige swallowed and clenched her fists. “It was a massacre, Cassidy. Your parents didn’t want you to have to live with that memory. They were trying to help you.”  
  
Right, so if Paige was to be trusted (and wasn’t that a wild thought), I couldn’t remember any of this because my parents had been trying to protect me. That was . . . I didn’t know what to think, honestly.  
  
“How do you factor into all this?” I asked. Somehow, that was easier to confront than my supposed lost memories. “You still haven’t explained why you tormented me for so long. If we really were friends, then you must have known how much being called a boy affected me. I _cried_ some days because of you, Paige!”  
  
Dammit, I shouldn’t have revealed that to her. I was just too emotionally confused. The discussion over my parents, the thought of missing memories, it left me far too vulnerable.  
  
Part of me wondered if that had been Paige’s intention. If she wanted to pry ammo to use against me by making up stuff and messing with my head. Yeah, that was an incredibly dumb thought to have, but no matter how irrational it might have been, I couldn’t shake it off.  
  
While all those thoughts ran through my head, Paige reeled back a bit, looking stricken. “I didn’t—” She shook her head. “I had to hurt you, but I didn’t realize it was that sensitive for you.”  
  
“You _had_ to hurt me?” I couldn’t stop myself from glaring at her. “You—” I took a deep breath. “I can’t do this right now.”  
  
I stood up.  
  
“Cassidy!” Paige stood as well. I turned to her and held out my hand.  
  
“Give me two days,” I told her. “I’ll decide whether or not I believe everything you just told me. If I do, you can tell me the rest. Okay?”  
  
“I . . .” She swallowed. “Alright. We’ll talk in two days. Meet me in front of the Henry Ford Museum after school if you’re willing to talk.”  
  
I agreed, and she finally left me alone. That gave me about two minutes to compose myself before I had to hurry to first period. Couldn’t Paige have chosen a more convenient time to throw all this at me?  
  
Chasing Paige off might have been the wrong call. I _did_ want to hear everything she had to tell me, if only because I was tired of having information kept from me. I just . . . couldn’t. I had to consider everything she said. If I couldn’t accept my apparent past with Anthony Tate, how could I listen to anything else Paige wanted to say?  
  
Fuck, this was all just so complicated.

* * *

What weren’t complicated were costume designs.

That was a lie. Costume designs were extremely complicated. But they were the _fun_ kind of complicated, so I threw myself into making one for myself, rather than think about . . . all that other stuff. After spending a few hours coming up with the costume I liked best, I had given the design to Richard. This was one of the last Touched related works that Ten Towers would help me with unless I joined them. Except, well . . .

“I just got off the phone with Flea.” Richard came into his office where I was waiting for him. “She said you can meet with her tomorrow. We’ll be commissioning your costume based on the design you gave us, but the Conservators will cover the cost if you join the Minority. They’ll be who you rely on for all Touched activity from here on out. Are you sure that’s what you want?”

Yeah, I was joining the Minority. Dad had been Silversmith, the leader of the Conservators. They had been the most scrutinized of the teams in the investigation following his arrest. The Minority, a group of teenaged Touched, had often worked with Silversmith. They had been investigated just as much as the Conservators, and had been publicly cleared of any wrongdoing. That didn’t make them fully trustworthy, but I was sure I would feel more comfortable with them.

“Trying to get me to join Ten Towers at the last minute?” I asked. Did they think I was spitting in their faces by joining up with a different team after all they had done for me? They were still giving me a home under their base, along with having two guards follow me in my civilian identity so I wouldn’t have to expose myself if I was attacked.

“You’ve still got two years before you turn 18 and officially join a team,” Richard said with a wink. “I’ve got plenty of time to sweeten the deal.” More serious, he said, “I think it will do you well to be around kids your age.”

_Sure, assuming they don’t force me to give away my real identity._ The last thing I needed was for them to learn I was the daughter of their old boss who had used them to control crime in Detroit. I would work with them, but it would be best for them not to know who I really was.

I wrapped things up with Richard, then went back to my apartment to finally confront Paige’s words. Cassitwo was in my room waiting for me, and I sat down next to her on the bed.’

Right. So there were three options here. One, Paige was lying, and this was another attempt to ruin my life. Two, she was telling the truth, but she was mistaken, or got some of the details wrong. Three, everything she said was the truth, and she really was trying to help me.

Was she lying? That seemed the most likely for now. She had obsessively tormented me since middle school, and now that I was vulnerable, this was the perfect opportunity to go for the throat. The Paige Banners I knew wouldn’t hesitate to put me through hell.

Except . . . there was that look in her eyes yesterday. Why had she looked so sad? And my headache earlier, that wasn’t normal, was it? If Paige was lying, then she was a far better actor than I gave her credit for. The more I thought about it, the more I realized her lying wasn’t so likely after all.

Then, was she mistaken? My parents had held so much control of the information that went around. They could have fooled Paige into thinking Anthony Tate was important so she would stay away from learning more about the Ministry.

Who was I kidding? That made no sense. The Ministry didn’t work that way. Even with the little knowledge I had, I understood that fact. And as much as I couldn’t stand Paige, I knew she wasn’t the sort of person to make such a big mistake.

That left the final option. Paige was telling the truth, and she was right. Everything she had told me really happened. I had been best friends with Anthony Tate, and his death traumatized me so much that my parents had erased my memory.

I tried to remember how Anthony Tate had looked. He was young when I had known him, and if I was close with him, I couldn’t remember those times. Even so, I found his face coming to me easily.

I reached out, and put my hand on Cassitwo’s shoulder. Maybe she could help me find out the truth?

Her appearance changed, turning into the visage of a young boy. Anthony Tate, exactly as I remembered him.

My heart froze in my chest. As my eyes were rooted to the face in front of me, I forgot how to breathe. Bile rose in my throat. I—I couldn’t—What was wrong with me? It was just a face, so why were my eyes burning with tears?

Fuck. Throwing my hand back on Cassitwo, I turned her back to normal. Even then, it took me another minute before I felt like I could breathe again.

Goddammit. There was no denying the effect Anthony’s face had on me. He really was—we had been—

One thing was certain. These two days better go by fast. Because Paige had plenty more explaining to do.

* * *

Hours after the sun had set, a single girl stepped into a small garden in front of the local library. Her thoughts were on anything but the call she would have a make in a minute.

She had hurt Cassidy. Paige Banners had known that for years. Her words had been intended to hurt. Still, having their effect confirmed by Cassidy herself, realizing just _how much_ damage Paige had done to the girl who had once been her best friend, left a pit in Paige’s stomach. How was she going to face Cassidy after all she had done?

No, she wouldn’t run away now. The Ministry was—well, not gone, but severely crippled. Paige didn’t know who had leaked all the information on them, but they had forced the Evans family out of the picture. Paige’s old orders had been invalidated. This was her chance to fix her relationship with Cassidy.

First, she had to deal with her father. To that end, Paige took the phone that looked more like a walkie talkie in her hands, a satellite phone that could even reach Breakwater, and answered the call that was being made.

“Paige.” Her father’s voice came through. “I hope you are alone.”

Paige rolled her eyes. “Yes, Dad. I know how to be careful. Even though the family you sold me to is—” She cut herself off. Her father’s games were getting old. Better to get to the point. “What are you calling me for? The Evans are done for. Mission complete.”

Hearing her father’s chuckle made her want to throw the phone. “I know you’re not this much of an idiot, Paige. I raised you better than that. The Evans may be gone, but we still must change the world. I will see Project Owl completed. And now, we can advance to the next stage.”

“The next stage? What—”

“The remnants of the Ministry,” Paige’s father said. “They will be ours soon enough.”

“You—” Paige stiffened. “You still want to take over the Ministry?”

“That should be obvious,” her father said. “They need a leader, and you are in the perfect position to rise to the top.

“These are your new orders, Paige. You are to infiltrate the Ministry and gain their trust. You will prove yourself worthy of leading them. I will even give you direct control over some of the biolems to accomplish this task.”

“You’re asking me to take control of one of the most powerful organizations in the country with nothing but a few biolems?” Paige asked. “Do you realize how ridiculous it sounds?”

“You will get it done.” She could hear the scorn in her father’s voice. “I would start with Blackjack. He was a trusted ally of the Ministry. Show him the benefits of working with us, and he should be able to use his contacts to give us an edge. In the meantime, you are not to tell anyone of our plan. Do not go to school anymore, and do not trust anyone. Your sole focus should be on completing your task.”

What? But that meant—no. She had to tell Cassidy the truth. There was nothing she could do to resist her father’s orders, only get around them. If he forced her to stay away from Cassidy . . .

“I should maintain my cover at school,” Paige said. “What if we need it in the future?”

“Enough!” her father spat. “I gave you your orders. Now obey them. You cannot fail here, Paige. This is the opportunity we’ve been waiting for.

“Succeed in this matter, and then we will talk about getting me off of Breakwater.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chance to suggest Touched names for Cassidy. Currently, Hecate and RC have been suggested. If you like either of those, feel free to recommend I go with it. Otherwise, if you have any other ideas, throw them out there.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Paige wasn’t at school the next day.  
  
That was weird, right? I wasn’t just being paranoid? She had promised to meet with me in two days, then didn’t show up to school the day after making that promise. Was she avoiding me? Was she even going to make it to our meeting? What was the point of talking to me if she was going to back out all of a sudden?!  
  
Calm down, Cassidy. I didn’t know for sure what Paige was thinking. For all I knew, she could have been sick. I wouldn’t jump to any conclusions until I went to meet with her and she didn’t show up.  
  
 _Unless she’s trying to kidnap me for a Fell-Touched gang. Does she hate me enough to go that far?_  
  
Yeah, I had to stop before my thoughts spun out of control. Luckily, I was on my way to the perfect distraction.  
  
Flea’s office wasn’t anything remarkable. In fact, it reminded me of Richard’s. That felt strange, considering she was the new leader of the Conservators, after my dad’s imprisonment had left the position vacant. I almost expected her office to have a giant balcony with a hot tub or something.  
  
The woman herself was sitting at her desk, in costume. That costume consisted of loose-fitting pale blue pants, a black, chainmail-like top, a long, light blue cloak with a golden trim, and a samurai helmet with mandible-like protrusion across the front of the metal mask.  
  
“Miss Evans,” Flea said. Like with Caishen, there was a slight distortion to her voice. “Thank you for taking the time to meet with me.”  
  
“I should be thanking you,” I said, sitting across from her. “When I got my powers, I wasn’t sure where I was going to end up.”  
  
“Well, the Minority will be happy to have you,” Flea said. “Consider this like a job interview, except with far less pressure since you’re almost guaranteed the position.”  
  
I managed a smile. “I’m surprised you’re so trusting, considering . . .”  
  
Yeah, I wasn’t sure where to take that sentence. How was I supposed to bring up the topic of my family using and manipulating all the Star-Touched and Fell-Touched teams in the city without it being awkward? Still, I had to know what reason Flea would give for trusting me. Was she so eager to get me into the Minority so she could keep a better eye on me? Were the Conservators—and Ten Towers for that matter—convinced I would join a Fell-Touched gang to get revenge for my family unless they threw me on the first Star-Touched team available?  
  
“I will be honest with you, Miss Evans,” Flea said. “Out of every individual investigated following the exposure of the Ministry, no one came close to being looked into as much as you.”  
  
That shouldn’t have surprised me. Still, I found myself staring at the woman.  
  
“Your . . . lengthy discussions with Ten Towers were not the only actions which cleared you of suspicion,” Flea continued. “There were extensive background checks to assess your character. We poured over all seized records from the Ministry to find involvement on your end, along with assigning whole teams to examine minute details of your past. Multiple Mind-Touched were brought in, admittedly not just for you, but they took time to vet you as well.”  
  
My head was spinning. I hadn’t been naive enough to think a few (okay, more like dozens) questions were enough to cast away any doubts people had of me, but how many resources had been used on me alone? How many people out there knew me far better than I would want them to?  
  
Those questions led to madness, so I took the only sensible action. I locked them tight in a box to shove to the deepest recesses of my mind, with as many locks over them as possible.  
  
“So the reason you trust me now,” I said, “is because of how little you trusted me before?”  
  
“Some of us trusted you from the start,” Flea said. “Even so, when dealing with a subject as delicate as the Ministry, one must be 100% certain.”  
  
“I . . . think I understand.” I took a deep breath. “Then . . . what do you need me here for? Anything I could say, you probably already know.”  
  
“I want to know why you chose the Minority,” Flea said. “Surely there are other teams who would have been equally eager to accept you.”  
  
 _Because I want a place where I can be someone other than Cassidy Evans._ I couldn’t say that out loud, of course, but I already had another answer prepared.  
  
“If my teammates are the same age as me, it should be easier to talk to them, right?” I said. “The Minority seems like the place where I’ll be most comfortable.”  
  
“Is that so?” Flea seemed to be paying even more attention to me, despite the fact that her gaze hadn’t left me since the conversation began. “What do you plan on telling your new teammates when you meet them?”  
  
Crap. It was impossible to miss what she was really asking.  
  
“I want to get to know them before I tell them who I am,” I said. “They can keep their identities from me, too. It’s not required for us to unmask in front of each other, is it?”  
  
“It is not,” Flea confirmed. “Though each current member of the Minority knows one another’s names and faces.”  
  
There was no getting around the awkwardness of hiding my identity, was there? Still, it was better than the alternative. What would my teammates say if they knew I was Cassidy Evans? I already couldn’t go five steps in school without someone staring at me. The last thing I needed was for the Minority to judge me before we even had the chance to fight together.  
  
Flea asked me a few more questions, but none of them were as difficult as the first few. Soon, I was leaving her office to head back to my apartment. My costume wasn’t quite ready yet, but as soon as it was, I would meet my new team.  
  
I just wished I was confident I would get along with them.

* * *

“You wished to speak with me.”

It was a statement, not a question. The one who spoke wasn’t asking for an explanation, but expecting to be given one. He wore black slacks, dark leather shoes, a black shirt and bolo tie with a red gem at the collar, a white duster coat, and a black helmet with a golden mask shaped like a face. His fingers were interlaced, his posture displaying total relaxation.

Paige knew Blackjack was in control here. And she knew his body language was intended to give off that display. Why he had been so willing to meet with her after she reached out, Paige wasn’t sure. Like many, she suspected his power was what led him to make many of his decisions, but didn’t know what his power was exactly. None of the records seized from the Ministry gave that detail away.

Blackjack wasn’t the only one in costume. Paige wore a white cloth mask over her eyes, with holes for her to see out of. Her hair was hidden by a dark gray hood, which was sewn onto a lab coat of the same color, with a black shirt underneath. Like Blackjack, she wore black slacks, though her shoes were white, ankle length boots.

“I did,” Paige said. “I was hoping to strike a deal with you. One which will benefit us both.”

She had to show him equal confidence, make it clear from the start that she had an offer he would hate to refuse. This wasn’t a man who took unnecessary risks. Paige was a nobody, at least for now. She needed tangible proof that she could provide results.

The biolems certainly counted, as she was pretending to be the one who had created them. That idea was taken from the old plan of getting sent to Breakwater after killing Cassidy. If she had been allowed to bring them in, she could have shown the orbs as proof. Given the nature of La Casa’s casino, and the private meeting room within where Blackjack and she spoke, that wasn’t an option.

“You understand that I am a busy man, Miss Founder” Blackjack said. “You earned these five minutes with the money you paid me, but I have no reason to listen to the words of an unknown Touched after that time has passed.”

“You will,” Paige promised him. “For I hold the key to ensuring La Casa comes out on top in the upcoming gang war.”

Though he wore a mask, Paige could imagine Blackjack raising an eyebrow.

“Everyone knows the tension in the streets is about to boil over,” Paige continued. “The chaos over the Ministry’s exposure was just the prologue to the upcoming carnage. As a close ally of the Ministry, you will be a major target.”

All information Blackjack knew, of course. Still, by reciting it, Paige was proving her own knowledge.

“If you were here to offer your services as a Touched, you would not have arranged such an intricate meeting,” Blackjack noted.

“What I want isn’t possible if I work for La Casa,” Paige agreed. “What you want, however, is to pull ahead of the other Fell-Touched gangs at the start. By bolstering your numbers, this wouldn’t be so difficult.”

Saying that, she pulled a stack of photos out of her coat. They were schematics and photographs of the biolems, focused on the orbs.

“I can give you an army,” Paige said. She watched as he examined the photos. “Mindless drones to break so your soldiers don’t have to die.”

“That is a pleasing thought,” Blackjack put the photos on the table. “Though reality is not so simple. I would not have the men and women fighting for me trust their backs to an unknown factor.”

“This is about more than simple skirmishes.” Paige met Blackjack’s gaze. “I can give you the Ministry.”

A bold claim, but one he would hopefully see was not without merit. Paige’s father was right, she could rise to the top, as much as she didn’t want to. All she needed was for Blackjack to cooperate at this step.

“You assume I want such a thing,” Blackjack said. “The Ministry is losing relevance with the loss of their leaders. Though I had an allyship with them, I will not stay on a sinking ship.”

“The Ministry is falling _because_ it lacks leadership,” Paige said. “Those within are squabbling over control, all while the organization itself falls apart around them. No one can step in and hold control long enough to stabilize them. I hope to take that role. You, Blackjack, can join me.”

Blackjack shook his head. “You hope to wrest control of an organization that has never heard your name.”

“Yet they have heard yours,” Paige argued. “We split control down the middle. Profits, too. La Casa will have power over the rest of the Fell-Touched gangs. I will have the resources I need to finish a certain project. Get me a meeting with them, and I will handle rising through the ranks.”

“Still not enough,” Blackjack said. “Why would I give you this? The previous leaders were my longtime allies, who I had gained trust in over decades. You have none of that trust, Miss Founder.”

“Then let me earn it,” Paige said. “The Ninety-Niners plan on attacking a La Casa bank two days from now. They will draw your Touched away with a diversion, then strike.”

For once, Paige noticed a slight tension in Blackjack’s shoulders. “A bank.”

Paige recited the address she had heard while infiltrating their base for some tech.

For the next minute, Blackjack seemed to be lost in thought. Paige had to hope her words were enough to convince him, because she was out of time.

Finally, Blackjack spoke. “We will see if you are right in this manner. If you are, then we will talk further.”

“That is all I ask,” Paige said. She had more to offer him, such as using the Ministry to prepare new records for his daughter. His civilian identity had been leaked from the Ministry’s records, and he was forced to keep her safe in a La Casa owned building no one knew the location of. If they rebuilt the Ministry, he could give his daughter a normal life.

That would be a conversation for later. Paige had accomplished her first task.

Now to prepare her message for Cassidy.


End file.
